Putin Visits The Rogozhsky Old Believers’ Spiritual Center In Moscow First Time In 350 Years

Russian President Vladimir Putin today visited the Rogozhsky spiritual center of the Old Believers in Moscow, the first head of state to visit the cloister in 350 years. The Old Believers, or Old Ritualists, split from the Orthodox Church in 1666 over a change to Christian rituals that had been performed for centuries. The changes were made by Patriarch Nikon of Moscow between 1652 and 1666.

Photo by http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/54641

They were exiled and discriminated against by the tsars and many fled overseas to locations like Alaska and South America, where some can still be found today. However, the Russian government, under a program to bring them back, has been offering them free land in Siberia to return and many have.

In the video (in Russian) Putin can be seen being escorted by Metropolitan Cornelius. The Russian president gave a biography of St. Nicholas and received an icon of the Holy Trinity in return, which he kissed, reported Starov.ru.

Putin also visited a site dedicated to Old Believer culture and the Pokrovsky Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church (RPSC), built in 1792. He also listened to the Old Believer choir.

L. Todd Wood, a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, flew special operations helicopters supporting SEAL Team 6, Delta Force and others. After leaving the military, he pursued his other passion, finance, spending 18 years on Wall Street trading emerging market debt, and later, writing. The first of his many thrillers is "Currency." Todd is a national security columnist for The Washington Times and has contributed to One American News, Fox Business, Newsmax TV, Moscow Times, the New York Post, National Review, the Jerusalem Post, Zero Hedge and others. He is also editor-in-chief of Tsarizm.com. For more information about L. Todd Wood, visit LToddWood.com.

The mission at Tsarizm is to provide breaking international news, analysis, and opinion, with a primary focus on Russia, the former Soviet republics, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the Middle East...although other regions may also be discussed...